SeeDubya, our southwest borders have become a virtual war zone. We are all aware that drug runners, who are concerned about getting their product to El Norte, are armed and are violent. We also know from our own Border Patrol that the Mexican military has helped drug dealers coming so far into the U.S. that their incursions cannot be considered just being lost and not knowing where the border is.

I attended a Minute Man meeting in Gonzales, Texas. Not knowing what to expect (having heard first the are just vigilantes and then reading up on them a bit), I was not surprised to see protesters outside the meeting hall from LaRaza, LULAC and other pro-illegal groups. What I was surprised to find was Texans, of Mexican heritage, inside the hall that were members of the Minute Men. Tejanos (Texas born Hispanics) who were border ranchers that were tired of finding dead cattle (it doesn’t take too many dead cows to hit the rancher’s wallet pretty hard), tired of their barnes and homes being broken into and robbed or vandalized, tired of having to have constant security while they are sleeping in their own homes and tired of the state (Texas) and their own federal government not doing anything to protect them as American citizens.

In my own small town (pop. 4,000) our local hosptial is in financial trouble. The hospital administration told me that the hospital treated at least 2,300 patients last year alone that had no I.D., no insurance and no money. My local school taxes continue to increase rapidly because of the children that have come in and speak no English and have to have special teachers. Where do these kids come from? They don’t live in our town yet are in our schools.

Americans have a right to feel safe in their own homes, to pay taxes to educate local children and to have a hosptial that is not facing ruin due to treatment given to those who cannot pay and should not be here in the first place.

Illegal immigration is just another small problem to those who live in areas not affected by the cost, the crime and other problems that come up. But to us Texans, who have an estimated 2 million illegals in our state, it is a major problem that we feel we have been forced to face because our own government won’t enforce the laws or demand that Mexico help in the resolution of the invasion (yes, we are being invaded) going on daily on our soil.

And yes, people are getting pretty fed up and what happens when that pot reaching boiling? Anarchy? Is that what we are going to see? People who can’t take it anymore taking the law into their own hands because their pleas have fallen on deaf ears in Washington?

I believe strongly in immigration. Legal immigration. It is what has made us Americans. But the stiutation we have now is unacceptable and it about to become volatile.